Not how I planned on ending my day

It was really a nice evening, even with all this snow. I went down to feed the fish and they came splashing to greet me. The sunlight was making their sides into rainbows, hence their name.

Then something awful happened. One enthusiastic fish got himself tangled up in the protective netting. I tried to free him, but I could hardly reach him with my extension thingy, he was in the exact middle of the pond. I was reminded of those dolphins who get caught in tuna nets, dying cruelly. I couldn't stand it, but I had no idea what to do. If I removed the entire net, I would never be able to get it back on to protect the rest of our fish, and my man wouldn't be home til almost midnight. I felt like it was my fault that this poor fish was suffering, because we knew that the net was inappropriate - the previous owner used a fruit tree netting instead of actual fish netting. The snow had pushed sections of netting into the water, even though a few days ago I tightened the net again. Why had we procrastinated on this?

I walked next door, cuz they have trout too, but they were not home. I called Petra and Norbert, and Petra sent her husband down to help me. It seemed like forever that I stood with Baasha in his stall, waiting for Norbert, fretting about the poor fish.

Norbert came prepared. He had brought a super long extension pole thingy for cutting tree branches. He had a tiny swiss army knife and he went to work taping it to the pole with electrical tape. I suddenly felt like we were in a movie, where you're stranded on an island and you fashion a harpoon. He joked, "Let's get the whale!"

He held a catcher net under the fish, and I went to work with the "harpoon", cutting the netting around the fish. I said a prayer, that we would be successful, so that he could feel the satisfaction of being my rescuing neighbor.

It worked. The fish was exhausted from fighting all that time, and didn't fight as they normally do when hooked. I grabbed my hammer, turned it upside down, and killed the poor thing. Norbert thought I'd be upset about it, and said "There was no alternative, he coudln't live with all that netting caught in his gills and teeth." I knew the fish had to die.

I do believe he was thrilled to have helped, and I hugged him and thanked him and covered the fish in snow.



Warning, there are blood and guts in the following photos.







This is your last warning.








I discovered our water faucet outside is frozen, of course, and I had no idea how I'd clean a fish with no hose. I was not gonna do that in the house! I finally brought a bucket of water out, two knives and a spoon, and went to work.

Using a bucket turns out to work! And the spoon removes the backbone kidneys better than my thumbs ever could. (Sorry, I know that is disgusting, but I have to be honest here, it is a nasty process.) In this photo you can see how the net is in the mouth and the gills.

I was frustrated that we have no cell phones, and I could not contact my man to ask him what I should have done. I was so frustrated, in fact, that I left the guts and head and bloody knives out there all night. The crows had a feast this morning. I needed my man to see the mess so he would understand how urgent it is that we get a new net, .....and cell phones!

I couldn't help but notice how healthy that fish was. Blood red gills, bright eyes, and totally reflective skin. You put your nose right inside and sniff and you smell nothing.

These are my hoof trimming gloves. Hm, I wonder if they're machine washable?

And now to get Norbert a nice thankyou gift.....(I offered him the fish itself, but like many Germans, he's not a fish eater).

I have really missed eating trout, ever since our fish became too clever for us. I don't understand how, but they eat the bait off the hook, and then skip away to freedom. We simply cannot catch them anymore, and as city folk, we're clueless about what to do. Then again, the fish are so tame, they're like our pets (making it doubly hard to kill them), so we don't mind too much.

It's in the oven now, with garlic, an entire lemon, butter, and thyme. We will be feasting in about 15 minutes!